Television's Role in the Socialization of African American Children and Adolescents

Abstract

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Academics versus athletics: An examination of the effects of background and socialization on African American male student athletes

“…Television's role in the socialization of African-American children and adolescents and its potential to influence their development was the focus of Stroman's (1991) study. The author views television as a mode of vicarious socialization which competes with the other socializing agents present in the lives of children.…”

Television Viewing in Low-Income Latino Children: Variation by Ethnic Subgroup and English Proficiency

“…1,2 Given that Latino preschool children are at greater risk for obesity than other children, 3 understanding television viewing in this population is warranted. While there is considerable literature regarding the television viewing habits of white and African American children, [4][5][6][7] there is limited research on television viewing in Latino children. Furthermore, none of this work takes into account the ethnic subgroups of Latinos.…”

Using Television Mediation to Stimulate Nontraditional Gender Roles among Caucasian and African American Children in the US

“…First, African American children and adolescents regard television as an important source of information (Stroman, 1991) and tend to watch more of it (Brown & Pardun, 2004;Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005;Roberts, 2000;Roberts & Foehr, 2008;Stroman, 1991;Wartella, Alexander, & Lemish, 1979), become more involved in programs (Greenberg & Atkin, 1982), perceive it as more real (Poindexter & Stroman, 1981), and use it more for socialization purposes (Poindexter & Stroman, 1981) than do Caucasian children. Jackson, Brown, and Pardun (2008) found that African American adolescents were more likely than Caucasian adolescents to have three or more televisions in their household, including having a television in their own bedroom.…”

“…African American children watch more television than do Caucasian children (Brown & Pardun, 2004;Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005;Stroman, 1991;Wartella et al, 1979) and may be more likely to experience some negative effects from viewing. In this sense, the research on mediation has yet to address one of television's most vulnerable audiences.…”